


burn your biographies, rewrite your history

by kerrykhat



Category: Mass Effect - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Basketball, Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fuck Barstool Sports, Gen, other characters make an appearance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-16
Updated: 2019-07-16
Packaged: 2020-06-29 09:37:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,256
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19827433
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kerrykhat/pseuds/kerrykhat
Summary: All Ashley Williams wanted to do was coach basketball without her grandfather's legacy derailing her career. She just didn't count on being caught up in making history at Normandy University under the first female head coach of a men's team.





	burn your biographies, rewrite your history

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to Lakambini for the amazing art that prompted this! I love Ashley a lot and I was so excited to see your piece as one of the art prompts.
> 
> Thank you to Kay & Chels for listening to me scream in DMs and yelling at me, "YOU CAN DO THIS!" I appreciate it <3
> 
> This is honestly one of the most self-indulgent AUs I could've written and I honestly have no one to blame but myself and travel exhaustion to how this idea came about.

Ashley sat in front of the search committee and did her best not to fidget under their collective gaze. She clenched her fingers together underneath the table and tried to keep her expression as neutral as possible. She hated the interview process with a burning passion. She hated trying to convince people she didn’t know that she was worth hiring and taking a chance on. But she really, really wanted this assistant coach job and she had to nail this. She didn’t come all the way to Normandy University in her best (ok only) suit to fail. Again.

“Thank you for coming in, Ashley,” the head of the search committee, a tall Afro-Latina, said, giving what Ashley hoped was supposed to be an encouraging smile. 

“Thank you for inviting me.”

“I know we already talked during the phone interview, but we wanted to reintroduce ourselves. I’m Anita Shepard, the head of the search committee and a current assistant coach.” As if Ashley wouldn’t know who Anita Shepard, legendary forward in the WNBA and one of the first female assistant coaches for a men’s college team, was.

The older white man lifted one of his hands and said, “Greg Adams and I’m also an assistant for the Spectres.”

“Doctor Chakwas, the head of the athletic department’s medical team.”

“And I’m Kaidan Alenko, librarian and serving as the search advocate.”

Ashley smiled at all of them, filing away “search advocate” as something to ask about once this was over. “It’s great to talk to you all again.”

“So just a quick rundown of today’s schedule: you’ll be meeting with David Anderson in a few minutes, then giving your presentation to the athletic staff, followed by a short break and then the short coaching demonstration. After that is lunch, and then a trip over to benefits to go over what Normandy University offers staff. Also post lunch is a tour of campus, followed by a meeting of both the men’s and women’s basketball staff and meeting again with the search committee to answer any questions that might’ve come up throughout the day. Finally, we’ll take you out for dinner and drop you off at the hotel.”

“That sounds good to me.”

“Great.” Shepard smiled again and straightened the papers in front of her. “Let’s get started.”

Minutes later, Ashley found herself sitting across from David Anderson, head coach for the Normandy Spectres’ men’s basketball team. Ashley did her best to remain calm and composed and hoped her palm wasn’t sweaty as she shook his hand. Anderson was a former pro-basketball player turned coach who had an eye for talent, although he’d yet to win a national championship. He’d already broken the mold in hiring Shepard as an assistant in his first season and it had almost been too much to hope that he might be willing to hire another woman when Ashley applied for this job. Yet here she was, sitting across from him in the final stages of the interview process.

“It’s good to finally meet you, Ashley,” he said, his voice deep and comforting. 

“It’s nice to meet you as well, sir.”

“Please, call me David. So, tell me a little about what drew you to this job?”

“Well, I currently coach community college basketball, and while I enjoy it, I’ve been looking to expand my horizons,” Ashley began. “I’ve liked what I’ve heard and seen about Normandy’s program and how it supports its students, so when I saw the position open I decided apply and see what happens.” No need to tell Anderson about the cloud her grandfather’s legacy had over her career and the numerous rejected applications. If he’d done his research on her, he probably already knew.

“What in particular about Normandy’s program?” Anderson asked, leaning forward slightly across the table.

Despite her nerves, Ashley quickly lost track of time talking with Anderson. It felt less like a job interview and more like a conversation she’d have with one of her favorite professors in her master’s program. He had a way of asking questions that encouraged her to sit back and really think before answering. Even better, he seemed to actually care about what she was saying, instead of treating it like just another in the possibly countless interviews he’d conducted over the years.

Before too long, Shepard appeared and whisked her away to the presentation room. “This is going to be a larger than normal audience,” the other woman said apologetically. Ashley did her best to keep up with her but it was difficult. Shepard had at least five inches on Ashley and even though she was trying to go slow, she still moved quickly.

“Any particular reason?” she asked as they reached their destination.

Shepard shrugged. “My guess is that they’re interested to see who Anderson might bring on board to replace Pressley.”

Ashley swallowed before answering, “Well, no pressure then.”

Shepard’s mouth quirked. “You said it, not me. Come on, Greg’s in there already getting the tech set up. He can talk you through how to use the mic and work the computer.”

“Still avoiding doing the tech, Anita?” Kaidan Alenko asked in a teasing tone as he rounded the corner.

Shepard crossed her arms and glared at Alenko. “No, it’s just that Greg knows how to get it to work on the first time.”

“Last time Shepard had to set up tech by herself, she couldn’t get it to work after twenty minutes of trying and ended up cursing at it in Russian for another five,” Alenko explained, seeing Ashley’s confused look. “They still speak about it in hushed tones.”

“It was only about a minute of Russian and you weren’t even there,” Shepard shot back with a grin. “Come on, Ashley, before Kaidan decides to slander me even more.”

“It isn’t slander if it’s true!” Alenko called out as they entered the room. 

Ashley felt her shoulders, which had relaxed hearing the friendly banter between Shepard and Alenko, tense up seeing the number of people already seated inside. _I can do this,_ she reminded herself as she walked to the front of the room where Adams was standing by the computer. _I can do this shit._

~*~*~

“So, how did it go?” Sarah asked over the phone later that night. Ashley lay on the hotel bed, phone on speaker and arm thrown over her eyes.

“All right, I think?” Ashley answered. She’d gotten back from dinner with Shepard, the head coach of the women’s team, Kahlee Sanders, and Dr. Chakwas to find a message from her sisters demanding an update. “I mean, I didn’t forget what I was supposed to be presenting on, which was a plus, and none of their questions were really that hard to answer.”

“Please, we all know you could do that in your sleep,” Abby said. “How did the rest of it go?”

Ashley sighed. “I think it went OK. The coaching demonstration went better than I’d expected, but it was hard for me to read the rest of the staff during the meeting this afternoon. Dinner and lunch were fine, but who the hell knows at this point.”

“I’m sure you rocked it,” Lynn said decisively. “How long did you spend prepping for this?”

She wanted to respond, _Prep’s not everything,_ but swallowed it. To be fair, this was honestly the furthest she’d gotten in the interview process for a job at a four-year university. She’d been trying to land a spot on a women’s team for years, ever since she’d finished her master’s program, but even with her CV and her references, she barely got even phone interviews. Most programs put two and two together with her last name and decided it wasn’t worth risking their program’s reputation by hiring Richard Williams’ granddaughter. 

“Way too fucking long,” she answered instead. “Anyway, they said I should hear back in about two weeks if I got the job or not.”

“You’re gonna get the job,” Sarah said. “I’ve looked up David Anderson and even aside from hiring Shepard, he has a reputation for not caring what other people think. You made it this far, which means that the search committee likes you, and he has final say, right?”

“As far as I know, yeah.”

“So you’re gonna get the job. I’m calling it now, you can thank me later when you get the call.”

Ashley let out a tired laugh. “OK then, Sarah. Look, I need to call Mom and let her know how this went. I’ll see you all on Sunday when I come over for dinner.”

“Ugh, fineeee,” Abby whined. “I’ll light another candle for you. See you this weekend.”

She finished up her call with her sisters and sat in the silence for a little while. This job had been her longshot when she’d first applied but now that she’d gotten this far she wanted it so badly. Everything she’d seen on Normandy’s campus today had just resonated deeply with her. The facilities were amazing, the staff on both the men’s and the women’s sides seemed truly dedicated to not only winning but helping the players succeed academically, and the campus was gorgeous. Arcturus seemed nice enough, although it would be an adjustment from living in Sirona. 

“Damn it,” she whispered, pressing the heels of her hands against her eyes. She’d been trying so hard up until now to keep her expectations low. It was hard to be disappointed when you weren’t expecting anything but after getting a taste of what she could have, she wanted it more than she could put into words. 

_Please,_ she prayed, _Please let me get this job._

~*~*~

“OK, good job everyone!” Ashley called out from the sidelines of the basketball court. “Let’s wrap things up.”

Her Monday-Wednesday morning basketball class finished their scrimmage and started their cooldown routines. She circulated among them, offering both word of praise and places where her class could improve. Most of her students were younger than her, but there was an odd student every semester or so who had a good decade or more on her which could make feedback tough. Fortunately, the older students this term were a good bunch.

“Josefa, next time let’s work on stealing the ball without tripping your opponent,” she told one of them, a surprisingly spry viejita. The older woman gave a raspy laugh.

“I wouldn’t be tripping people if they didn’t have such big feet,” she joked.

“True as it may be, let’s still work on that next time.”

Soon enough, her class filtered out of the gym, leaving Ashley to finish putting the equipment away. Without her students to distract her, her thoughts turned to Normandy University and her current waiting game.

It was coming on two week since she’d gone up for her interview and she’d heard nothing from the search committee aside from a brief email from Shepard in response to her thank you. While the logical side of her brain noted that the wait was in line with what she’d been told, Ashley still couldn’t help the gnawing feeling that this was only delaying the inevitable. _You didn’t get the job,_ the voice in the back of her head whispered viciously. She did her best to ignore it, but the longer she went without hearing anything the louder and more insistent it grew.

With a sigh, Ashley shouldered the bag full of basketballs and walked back to the athletic offices. She dropped off the balls in the equipment room and made her way to the small office she shared with Nirali Bhatia, the volleyball coach. The other woman was packing up when Ashley opened the door. 

“Ashley! I was going to text you but are you still on for helping with setting up for the Day on the Green?” Nirali asked.

“Yep. I have it marked on my calendar and I think I got Abby to agree to help.” Nirali’s husband, Samesh, was a teacher at the local junior high school, and Day on the Green was one of their annual fundraising events.

“Excellent. I’ll send you the details.”

Nirali waved goodbye and headed out, leaving Ashley alone in the small room. Collapsing into her chair, she reached into her bag and pulled out her phone to text Sarah and she if she’d be up for a run that evening. Since the basketball season was over, she had more free time in the evenings, which was always nice, and it was more fun to run with someone else. To her surprise, there was a notification that she had a voicemail from a Virginia number. Taking a deep breath, she hit play.

“Hello, Ashley, this is David Anderson from Normandy. Could you give me a call back when you have the chance? Thank you.”

A pit formed in Ashley’s stomach. This was it. All the waiting was over. She steadied her hands and hit “return call”. The phone rang one, twice before someone picked up.

“Hello, is this Ashley?” 

“Yeah. I just got your message. You wanted to talk to me?” Ashley replied, willing her voice to remain steady. She rubbed her free hand against her leg to keep the sweat from gathering. 

“Yes. The search committee has made its decision and we’re happy to offer you the job of assistant coach to the men’s basketball team here at Normandy University.”

It took a moment for her to process what Anderson was saying. “Really?” she asked, almost afraid to believe what she was hearing. “Thank you. Thank you so much.”

“We’ll be lucky to have you joining us. I’ll be sending over an offer letter once we’re done and give you a call in a few days to go over it, discuss a start date, and any paperwork we need. Does Wednesday around this time work for you?”

“Yeah, I should be free then,” Ashley said. She might need to go to an empty classroom in the off-chance Nirali would be in the office, but it would be fine. “Again, thank you so much for giving me this opportunity.”

“Thank you for applying. I’ll talk to you in a few days and I look forward to working with you.”

Ashley hung up the phone in a daze. She… she had the job. The job she’d wanted more than anything but had barely allowed herself to hope for. The job she was sure she wouldn’t get because of, well, _everything_ : her gender, her age, her grandfather’s legacy, the fact that she had only been head coach for a few seasons at Sirona CC. This was more than she could’ve ever dreamed of.

Hands trembling, she scrolled until she reached the right contact. Her mom picked up right away.

“Mi’ja, is everything okay? Did something happen?” Silvia Williams asked, her voice worried.

She closed her eyes and nodded, even though her mom couldn’t see her. “Yeah. I just got offered the job, Mom. They want me as an assistant.”

“What? They offered…”

“I just got off the phone with Anderson and he’s sending me the offer letter. I did it, Mom, I really did it.”

Several weeks later, Ashley stood in front of her dad’s grave. The time between her hire and leaving Sirona had rushed by, lost in a rush of submitting her notice, arranging a cross-country move, and flying to Arcturus to look at potential rentals. Before she knew it, it was time for her to start saying her goodbyes and leaving her life in Sirona behind.

Kneeling down, she gently placed the bouquet of flowers she’d bought in front of her dad’s gravestone.

“Hey, Dad,” she said quietly. Her throat tightened and she swallowed before continuing, “I’m heading out to Normandy tomorrow and I won’t be back for a while. I asked Sarah, Abby, and Lynn to come by on the anniversary, but I don’t think they’re gonna read to you.”

She dug her fingers into the grass and whispered, “I wish you could be here.” He’d been so proud of her every step she’d taken to get this far, from shadowing the coaches when she played in college to getting her master’s to coming back to Sirona to take an assistant’s job. He’d died before she’d taken over the head coach’s job after Ellison stepped down, unfortunately, but he’d been so happy to see her clawing her way into the path he’d been shut out of because of Grandpa. Coaching was in their blood, he’d told her one afternoon after seeing one of her high school games where she’d served as a floor general. He was the one who showed her that road forward with the game she loved.

The late afternoon wind blew through the trees, ruffling the new leaves above her. Ashley smiled up at them, hoping that it was a sign that her dad heard her up in Heaven.

“I’ll make you proud, Dad. I promise.” 

The next morning, Ashley swallowed a yawn as she hugged Sarah tightly. Neither Lynn nor Abby had been able to get off work to make the drive to the airport, so she’d said her goodbyes to them the night before.

“You’ll be back for Christmas, right?” her youngest sister mumbled into her shoulder. 

“I’ll try.” 

“You better,” her mother said sternly. “You’re already missing Thanksgiving this year for that tournament.”

“Ok, I’ll be back for Christmas,” Ashley amended with a laugh. Letting go of Sarah, she turned to her mom. “I’ll call you once I’m at my new place.”

“Good.” Her mom kissed her cheek and hugged tighter before letting her go. “Te amo, mi’ja. You’re going to do amazing things at Normandy.”

“Love you too, Mom.” Reluctantly, Ashley let go of her mom, gathered her bags, and started walking towards security. Before she got in line, she looked over her shoulder and gave her family a final wave goodbye. Both her mom and Sarah waved back before Sarah made a “shooing” motion. Smiling at her sister, Ashley turned back towards security and made her way through.

On the other side, she paused and took a deep breath. This was it. She was across the country for the job of her dreams. Moving to Northern Virginia would be the farthest she’d ever been from home and her family. There was no guarantee she’d have this job longer than a season, and if that happened she didn’t know what might happen next. She just had to pray that this would last as long as possible and that she’d land on her feet once it inevitably came to an end.

~*~*~

Two connections and half a day later, Ashley rolled a luggage cart out of Dulles airport into the pickup zone. Even though it was early May, humidity pressed on her skin and a bead of sweat rolled down her back. She grimaced, already not looking forward to the hint of what the Virginia summers had in store and scanned the area for her ride.

“Williams! Over here!”

Shading her eyes, she found who shouted her name. Greg Adams stood next to a small SUV waving his arm to get her attention. 

“Thanks for the ride,” she said when she got in earshot. 

“No problem,” Adams replied, helping her load her bags into the back. “Getting to Normandy can be a pain if you don’t have a car and we figured you wouldn’t be up for trying to deal with Greyhound or a shuttle after a full day of travel.”

“I still appreciate the ride and thanks again for helping me find a roommate.”

Ashley had been at her wits end trying to find a place to rent the last time she’d flown out to look at places. She’d mentioned it to Adams her second to last day in the area and he had hooked her up with a grad student he knew whose current roommate was graduating and needed someone to take over her lease. Ashley wasn’t sure if she and Tali Zorah were going to be friends, but she’d liked the younger woman enough to agree to sublet for the next six months with an option to sign on to the new lease if it worked out.

“Tali’s a good kid,” Adams answered, navigating out of the airport. “I’m glad I could help you both out.”

The rest of the drive passed in casual silence. Ashley was tired enough from her day of travel where she dozed off and on and Adams seemed content to listen to NPR. They pulled into town about an hour later, Ashley jerking awake from the change in speed. 

Ashley’s new place was a small, tidy-looking house about a mile from campus. The door opened as Greg was helping Ashley get her bags out of the car and her new roommate stepped outside.

“Do you need help?” Tali Zorah asked, adjusting her purple hijab. 

“Could you hold the door? I think we’re good with the bags,” Greg said, closing the car door.

“Of course. Did you have a good flight, Ashley?” Tali asked politely.

“It was uneventful, which is all I could ask for,” she said, biting back a yawn. “Long though.”

Greg said goodbye, and Tali showed Ashley to her new room, which thankfully was already furnished with a bed and dresser, before disappearing into her own room.

Ashley sent a text to her family letting them know she’d arrived and then got ready for bed. She’d worry about unpacking later. She was so exhausted that she barely remembered turning off the light and collapsing into bed before falling asleep.

~*~*~

Ashley had one normal day to get settled in at her new job before everything got blown to hell and back. The day started strangely, with Anderson and Sanders off meeting with university administration and the rest of the basketball staff exchanging worried looks in the middle of awkward silences. Ashley had been ready to start reviewing tape of conference rivals and work on prepping for the arrival of the students in a few weeks for summer training with Anderson and Adams, not whatever the hell she found herself in.

“What’s going on?” Ashley asked Shepard, who’d come in that morning from pre-season training camp. Even without Anderson locked in meetings, Shepard coming down from Philly so close to the start of the WNBA season was strange enough to be worth noting.

“Nothing good,” the other woman replied grimly. “It’s always a mess when someone gets pulled into a meeting with the admin and the lawyers.”

“Do you know something?”

Shepard paused for a moment, tucking several of her long braids behind her ear before saying, “I have an idea, but I’d rather not talk about it until we hear what’s going on. I just know it’s not Anderson’s fault.”

Ashley bit the inside of her mouth, frustrated but reluctant to push for more from an unwilling coworker especially when she was new. She felt on edge, though, wondering what mess she might’ve found herself in that involved lawyers and the rest of the staff looking increasingly on edge. She hated lawyers.

The rest of the day passed with the entire staff going through the motions of getting work done. Shepard vanished shortly after lunch, 

Finally, towards the end of the day, an email went out to the entire athletic department announcing an all staff meeting first thing the next morning headed by the university’s board of trustees. There was no other information about what it might be about. Ashley read it several times, the sense of dread that had been shadowing her all day settling in and digging its claws into her. She swallowed but it did nothing to get rid of her nausea. The room felt too hot and closed-in. She’d been so worried that she’d come to Normandy only to fail that she hadn’t even considered the possibility that something else might pull the rug out from under her and send her sprawling. Shaking her head, she closed down her computer and packed up. She wasn’t going to be getting any more work done today.

“I take it you saw the email,” Dr. Chakwas said when Ashley left her office. She was standing with Adams and Lee Riley, one of the women’s basketball assistants near the exit.

“Yeah.”

“We’re going to get drinks. Would you like to join us?” the older woman asked.

Ashley should go home. She needed to unpack and cook so she has lunch tomorrow, plus she shouldn’t be spending money until her first paycheck hits. But what’s the saying? Misery loves company.

“Yes, please,” she said, adjusting her backpack. “Lead the way.”

Much to Ashley’s surprise, Shepard was already waiting at the bar not far from campus with a drink along with the guy from the search committee. Alenko, she remembered after a moment, Kaidan Alenko. He waved at them and Ashley’s group made their way over to him.

“You’re not going back to Philly tonight?” Greg asked as they scooted into the booth. 

Shepard shook her head. “Ideally I’m flying out tomorrow night to meet the team in Connecticut for our preseason game. With everything that’s happening, though, who the fuck knows at this point.”

“How bad’s it going to be?” Lee asked once the waiter took their order. “I know you can’t give us details but a heads up on how much shit we’re in would be nice,” she added when Shepard grimaced. 

“Good news is that your program is fine and that’s all I can say right now.” She sighed and turned to Ashley. “Sorry you’re getting dragged into this mess. It’s a hell of a way to start your first week.”

“That’s, um, putting it mildly.”

Shepard gives her a weary smile. “Well, with any luck, this will be about as eventful as it gets until the season starts.”

“From your mouth to God’s ears,” Ashley said as Kaidan knocked quietly on the wooden table. 

The conversation shifted away from the chaos that had engulfed the athletic department, although Ashley could feel it hanging over them like a Sword of Damocles. It dogged the edges of Kaidan’s rant about journals and budgets, hovered just out of reach as Karin sighed about the latest ways students had managed to injure themselves outside of training (names changed to protect the guilty of course). It lurked in the back of Ashley’s mind as she walked home.

Tali’s door was closed, but there was light coming out from underneath and she could hear what sounded like the score to one of those sappy musicals her sisters liked. Before Ashley got ready for bed, she lit a candle and sent up a quick prayer. She didn’t know what the meeting tomorrow had in store for her, but hopefully it wouldn’t blow her new life to bits before it even started.

~*~*~

Shepard, it turned out, did not have a direct line to God’s ears. It had been a long shot, but it would’ve been nice for it to actually be true.

The next morning Ashley slid into the large room where the athletic department staff was gathering and glanced around for her colleagues. Shepard sat at the front of the room alongside Anderson and a pompous looking man Ashley didn’t recognize. Unlike most of the staff in the room, the three of them were dressed formally, with Shepard’s braids arranged into a bun. The rest of the combined basketball staff was sitting a few rows behind them, with a few open seats around them. Ashley made her way to them, careful not to spill any of the coffee in her travel mug. She sat down in the first available chair and waited.

Promptly at the scheduled time, a trio of figures stood up and approached the podium at the head of the room.

“They’re on the board of trustees,” Greg whispered to Ashley, who was about to ask. 

The lone woman stepped forward and cleared her throat. “Greetings. For those who do not know me, my name is Bethany Tevos and I am the current president of the Board of Trustees. Recently, evidence was brought to our attention about repeated and flagrant NCAA violations committed by head football coach Saren Arterius. While the nature of these violations will remain classified for now, we expect the NCAA to make them public in the near future when handing out their sentence.” The room, which had fallen silent while Tevos was speaking burst into wave a whispers.

Ashley just sat there, trying to absorb what the woman was saying. NCAA violations could be anything (fuck, doesn’t she know that, memorizing all of them so she doesn’t accidentally put a foot out of line), but to have an announcement to all athletic staff at once had to mean it was more than the run of the mill shit, right? _It’s not sexual assault_ , she thought sourly, glancing over at the football staff who sat stone-faced. The NCAA never did anything about that.

“As these violations happened under his watch, Athletic Director Nihlus Kryik has submitted his resignation, which we have accepted,” Tevos continued, raising her voice in order to be heard over the noise. “A statement to the press will be going out shortly. In the meanwhile, head men’s basketball coach David Anderson has agreed to step forward to lead the department during this time. In addition to that, Anita Shepard will be serving as interim head men’s basketball coach for the foreseeable future.”

The room erupted into noise again. Whether it was about Kryik stepping down, Anderson stepping up, or Shepard taking over as coach Ashley couldn’t tell. The knot loosened slightly at the news. It wouldn’t be an unknown taking over the program looking to shake things up and move around personnel, at least not immediately. It would give the remaining staff all a chance to prove themselves. 

“Holy shit,” Lee whispered beside her. “They’re actually going to do it.”

Ashley almost asked her, _do what? _, before it hit her. Shepard was going to be the first woman head coach for a men’s team, both in college and in the pros. All eyes were going to be on them to see if they succeeded or failed.__

__“Holy shit,” she echoed, taking a long drink of coffee. _Well,_ Ashley thought numbly, _you did want a chance to prove yourself to everyone._ She just didn’t think it would be anything like this._ _

__Later that afternoon, after the first awkward meeting of the men’s basketball staff headed by Shepard but before she was whisked away to a press conference, Ashley stood by her now-boss’ door and knocked._ _

__“Come in,” Shepard called out. “Ashley, is everything ok?” she asked when she saw Ashley standing in the doorway. She looked slightly worn, like the day was starting to catch up with her. “You’re not thinking of leaving are you?”_ _

__“Yeah, no everything’s fine. Well, mostly fine, all things considered, but I’m still planning on staying here.” Ashley sat down in the chair across from Shepard._ _

__“So what is it, then?”_ _

__Ashley clenched her hands together tightly. She’d hoped there would be more time before the truth about her family came out but she didn’t want a reporter springing this on Shepard during the press conference. “It’s about my grandfather,” she said._ _

__“Your grandfather?” Shepard asked, frowning slightly._ _

__She let out a breath. “Yeah. My grandfather was Richard Williams. The former athletic director at Monument.”_ _

__Shepard sat back, eyebrows climbing. “Monument? The one whose basketball program got the death sentence from the NCAA all those years ago?”_ _

__Ashley nodded. “It was… complicated. He was brought on to help right the department after they were put on probation but then the whole thing about the basketball coach making the deal with a booster for the slush fund came out and he was left holding the bag. He was doing his best to clean out the department, but the NCAA wanted to make an example and Monument was right there. He was forced to resign and his reputation never recovered from it. It’s been following my family around as well.” She grimaced, remembering the politely worded email from a recruiter implying that the reason no one was interested in Ashley’s CV was her family’s legacy coming back to haunt her._ _

__“You think this might come up in the press conference,” Shepard said, quickly putting together the pieces. “Would you have told me this otherwise?”_ _

__“Eventually? I just…” Ashley sighed. “I wasn’t sure if you all knew, since it always seems to come out sooner or later.”_ _

__“All we had to go on was what you submitted when you applied,” Shepard said, leaning back in her chair. “And that’s what we used to make the choice to hire you. You’re a part of this team now, Ashley, from the moment you signed your offer letter. We’re not going to kick you out just because of who your grandfather is.”_ _

__Ashley nodded, momentarily unable to speak around the lump in her throat. “Thank you,” she finally managed to say._ _

__“You’re welcome. Is there anything else you want to tell me?”_ _

__“No, ma’am.”_ _

__Shepard smiled. “Please don’t ma’am me, it makes me look to see if my grandma decided to drop in.”_ _

__“Ok then, skipper,” Ashley laughed, getting to her feet._ _

__“Skipper, I can work with.” Shepard pulled out a makeup bag out and put it on her desk. “They never have foundation my shade,” she explained seeing Ashley’s puzzled look. “I’ve learned just to carry this with me whenever I need to go on camera for something.”_ _

__“Good luck out there. And thank you again.”_ _

__Later that afternoon, Ashley watched Shepard’s press conference in the staff lounge squashed next to Dr. Chakwas and a tall man she didn’t recognize. The room was packed with people from all over the athletic department, minus a conspicuous lack of football staff._ _

__“Here we go,” Karin muttered under her breath once Shepard finished giving her statement._ _

__“Hello, Khalisah al-Jilani, Washington Times,” the first reporter introduced herself. “As a WNBA player you’ve been particularly vocal about issues such as Black Lives Matter and have knelt during the national anthem. Will you be bringing your activist agenda with you as head coach?”_ _

__“Are you fucking kidding me?” the man next to Ashley muttered under his breath. “Why the hell did they invite her, she’s a hack job.”_ _

__Shepard smiled blandly at the woman and answered calmly, “My activism was no secret before I was hired, Ms. al-Jalani, but my job here is to coach the young men who are part of this program and win games. While doing my job, I hope that I can model good behavior both on and off the court as well as give them the space and confidence they need to grow as adults in the time that I’m working with them. My goal is to help them find their voices not just as players but as members of their various communities and work with them to create positive impacts.”_ _

__“So what you’re saying is…”_ _

__“I believe I answered your question, and I see another raised hand.”_ _

__“That was well-played,” Ashley said, listening as the next reporter asked about the logistics of being an active player and head coach. It reaffirmed who Shepard was as a person, but also firmly established what she viewed as her main obligation as coach._ _

__“She’s good at what she does,” Karin replied fondly._ _

__The rest of the press conference was a mixed bag, but fortunately for Ashley there was nothing about her family’s history. Hopefully, it meant the scandal was far enough passed that the media didn’t give a shit, but most likely they were far more interested in asking Shepard variations of the same damn question: “how does it feel to be the first female head coach of a men’s team?”_ _

__Finally, the press conference wrapped up and someone turned the TV off._ _

__“That wasn’t as terrible as it could’ve been,” the tall man remarked._ _

__“I always forget how much of an optimist you are, Garrus,” Greg said, getting to his feet. “Come on, Williams, we should see if Shepard needs anything before we call it a day.”_ _

__Shepard had nothing for them and Ashley left shortly thereafter. Slipping back into her office, Ashley checked her phone and grimaced at the sheer number of notifications from her sisters, all demanding updates. She shot them a text saying she’d call them later and tucked her phone back into her bag. It’d been a long day and she was ready to go home and ignore unpacking for a little while longer in order to just stare at the ceiling and try to process everything that’d happened._ _

____

~*~*~

Summer flew by. Between regular telemeetings with Shepard who was in the midst of her playing season, going through scouting reports with Greg, organizing training programs for the players who were on campus over the summer, and helping run the summer basketball camps, fall and the beginning of term arrived before she realized what was happening.

“It can’t be the start of term yet, I just got here,” Ashley complained one evening to Tali.

Her roommate just laughed at her. “Did you expect time to stand still while you got used to being here?” Tali teased her gently. 

“Maybe,” Ashley replied with a laugh. “I just never expected the last few months to fly by so fast, that’s all.”

During that summer, Ashley slowly began carving out a group of friends for herself. To her relief, she and Tali bonded after an initial week or so of cautious co-habitation, to the point where she felt comfortable calling Tali her friend before her roommate. While Ashley and Adams got along well enough, she found herself hanging out with Lee Riley and some of the other assistants in different sports at the local dive bar, Drack’s. It’d gotten to the point that the owner, a big, grizzled former football player, had a spot reserved for them.

Much to Ashley’s surprise, one of the people she found herself striking up a friendship with Kaidan Alenko. Despite being a librarian, he seemed comfortable around the athletic department and would come to their after work get togethers every now and then. While Ashley enjoyed his company, it was odd to say the least.

She was puzzling over that particular thing one Friday afternoon while browsing the university library shelves looking for some new poetry to read over the weekend. She still had her dad’s copies of Tennyson, her old books from undergrad, and the more recent collections she’d bought tucked in on her shelves, but she was in the mood for something different. Maybe Heinlein, she considered while scanning the shelves. She’d liked Starship Troopers well enough when she read it a few years ago but she’d never read any of his poetry. It could be awful, but it would be different from her usual fare.

Hearing footsteps approach her, Ashley turned and gave an awkward wave when she saw Kaidan walking towards her. “Hey.”

“Hey, Ashley. I wasn’t expecting to see you here,” he said. Ashley starting drawing herself up, more than a little offended when he made a face. “Sorry, that came out wrong. I meant I’m not used to seeing you outside of the athletic department.”

“That’s fair enough,” Ashley replied, dropping the sharp retort she’d been about to let loose. 

“Did you need help finding anything?”

“I think I’m good, but thanks,” Ashley said, making her decision. She grabbed the Heinlein and a book of translated Clarice Lispector poems and tucked them under her arm. 

“I didn’t realize Heinlein did poetry,” Kaidan commented, glancing at the books. “Let me know if it’s any good. I keep trying to get into poetry but have a hard time with it.”

“What have you tried?”

“The ones we covered in school, mostly.”

“That might be your problem,” Ashley said with a laugh. “I mean, I love Tennyson but that’s because I didn’t read him in high school first. They way poetry gets taught there seems to be designed to get people to hate it.”

Kaidan nodded. “That makes sense. So what non-class poetry would you recommend then?”

“Neruda’s always a pretty good choice,” Ashley answered, pausing to think. “Even if you don’t read Spanish, he’s stuff is pretty easy to find translated to English. For modern poets, I really enjoy Natasha Trethewey’s work. Try those and let me know if they work for you, and I can try to tailor any future suggestions based on what you say.”

“Thanks. I’ll look them up. Hey, are you doing anything on Wednesday night?” he asked, rubbing the back of his neck. “A few of us from campus do a local pub trivia, but we lost a few team members and we’re trying to get some new folks. Wanna come?”

“Sure, but I’ve never done trivia before.”

“Great! And don’t worry about that, it’s easy enough to get the hang of. Plus, having you on the team could help us with any sports themes that come up.”

“I can try but no guarantees. Is it alright if I bring my roommate along? This sounds like something she might be interested in.” 

“Yeah, of course,” Kaidan said. “Like I said, we’ve been down a few people and while we’ve been doing ok running short-handed, having even one more person would help us a lot. I’ll email you the details.”

“Thanks. Have a good weekend.”

“You too, Ashley. See you on Wednesday.”

Ashley walked back to her office, feeling nervous but happy at the same time. Her social life so far was fairly limited to Tali and certain members of the athletic department, and she’d been feeling… unmoored was the best word for it. While it made sense given how new she was in town, it still made her feel lonely. She’d been used to having a larger circle of friends, both from school and from living in the same town where her family was from and building on those connections. Plus, she liked Kaidan. Even if it turned out she hated trivia, it would be something new.

Tali, when Ashley brought up the possibility of joining Kaidan’s trivia team, agreed right away. “I need something to do in the evenings other than work or grade assignments,” Tali explained, prepping one of her dinners. “Plus I think the chemical engineers have a team and I want to beat those jerks.”

Ashley laughed. “There’s a story there, right? You can’t just declare a hatred for them and not explain it.”

That Wednesday night, Ashley and Liara went to the Tempest, one of the pubs lining the main road in Arcturus. She spied Kaidan with a man and woman she didn’t recognize and nudged Tali. “That’s them.”

“Hey, Ashley! I’m glad you were able to make it,” Kaidan said when they reached the table. 

“Thanks again for inviting us. This is Tali, my roommate.”

“Nice to meet you,” he said, politely inclining his head at her and putting his hand over his heart. 

“You as well,” Tali replied and stuck out her hand for him to take, her eyes crinkling at the edges. Kaidan’s mouth quirked and he shook Tali’s hand. “So who’s the rest of the team?”

They sat down and Kaidan introduced them to Jeff “call me Joker” Moreau and Dr. Liara Tsoni. 

“Do both of you work at Normandy?” Ashley asked, glancing at the menu in front of her.

“I work in the motor pool and doc’s in the archeology department,” Joker explained. “One of our old team members, Jenkins, was also at the library, but he left about a month ago.”

“So why do you hang out so much with the athletic department?” Ashley asked Kaidan after they’d placed their order. “Like, I’m not complaining, but it was just not what I was expecting.”

“I knew Anita in undergrad and we kept in touch once we graduated. It worked out that we started working at Normandy around the same time,” Kaidan explained with a shrug. “I’d already accepted the job at the library when Anderson recruited her to be on his staff last year. She invited me to hang out with some of the staff since we were both new in town and well, here we are.”

“Huh. I didn’t realize you and Shepard went that far back.”

“Nothing creates a lasting friendship quite like being trapped in a shitty GenEd course with a truly awful professor,” Kaidan said with a laugh. “Trust me, it was one of those moments that made me regret leaving Vancouver to come to the States for university.”

“Man, I don’t miss GenEd courses. That shit was the fucking worst,” Joker complained.

“I wouldn’t know. My college didn’t have required classes outside of what we needed for our major,” Liara said calmly before taking a sip of her water.

“Trust me, you didn’t miss much,” Ashley replied, leaning back so the waiter could put her beer down. “Mine weren’t terrible but I’m glad I never have to take another math class in my life.”

Trivia, once it started, went well enough. Their team placed second, thanks in part to Tali’s scary amount of knowledge about romcoms. 

“So what did you think?” Kaidan asked once it was all over. Joker and Liara had already left and Tali was in the bathroom. 

“It was fun,” Ashley said. “Although I’m not sure I can top Tali in single-handedly winning us a round.”

Kaidan threw his head back and laughed. “No worries there. I’m not sure any of us, except maybe Liara, could do that.”

“I don’t know if I’ll be able to keep coming once the season starts, but I’m happy to keep coming as long as I an if you’ll have me.”

“Yeah, um, that would be great,” Kaidan said with a smile as Tali rejoined them.

She smiled back at him and waved goodbye before walking back home with Tali.

“So you want to do that again next week?” she asked her roommate.

“I think so,” Tali answered. “Hopefully they do a section on musicals.”

~*~*~

Fall term began and campus filled in once more with the returning crush of students. Within the athletic department, the quiet camaraderie of the summer vanished, with the staff of each sport bunkering down and focusing on their upcoming seasons. While the men’s and women’s basketball programs continued to interact on a regular enough basis, gone were the regular meetups with other coaches.

Even limited by NCAA regulations about when practices could start, Ashley’s time was quickly taken up by increased focus on scouting reports and becoming familiar with her new players. Some, like Liam Kosta and their burly center nicknamed Grunt, had been there over the summer, but new players like Scott Ryder were finally on campus. Shepard came down as often as she could between games but her team was in the playoffs, which limited her availability.

“Next year might be my last season,” she said one day on a call after a particularly hard fought win over Washington that sealed Philly’s trip to the finals. Ashley had watched the game at Drack’s with the rest of the basketball staff, Kaidan, and Tali. Shepard had lead the team in rebounds, but had taken a hard knock towards the end of the game that had everybody watching groaning in sympathy. 

“Your call, skipper. In the meanwhile, what do you think about the report we have about what Texas might look like for our opener?”

Finally, after weeks of prep and unofficial practices that fit NCAA guidelines, it was time for Midnight Madness and the official start to the basketball season. While in the past it’d been a moderately well-attended spectacle drawing mainly from the campus community, according to the head of PR it was going to be massive this year. Even though it’d been months since the announcement, Shepard’s MVP performance in the WNBA finals had refocused the spotlight on her and Normandy’s upcoming men’s basketball season.

“It’s everyone’s first chance to see you coach,” she explained calmly to Shepard and the rest of the staff, who just gave a resigned sigh. “They want a show, we’re going to give it to them.”

“I’m sorry about this,” Shepard apologized later once the PR head had left. “But Anderson told me that this is happening whether we like it or not.”

“Eh, it’s not problem,” Greg said with a smile. “It’s not every year that our first real practice is televised.”

“I’m pretty sure I could’ve done without that particular honor,” Ashley sighed, leaning back in her chair. “With any luck, fucking Barstool won’t be one of the ones who shows up.”

“They’re not,” Shepard said, looking pleased. “We’re keeping it quiet for now, but their press pass didn’t get approved. Something about… only a limited number of spots for national media and they’re already full.”

“Oh thank God,” Ashley breathed. “Because no offense, Shepard, but I probably would’ve socked whoever showed up for that last piece of shit article they published.”

“You would have to get in line, I already claimed first go,” Shepard replied viciously. “I hate those little shits and Anderson knows it.”

“At least that’s one thing we don’t have to worry about. Do we have a list of recruits who said they’ll show up?” Greg asked, bringing the meeting back to the business at hand. 

The night of Midnight Madness found Ashley standing in the hallway underneath the basketball arena with the team and her fellow coaches. She could feel rather than hear the bass of the music pumping through the building and she sent up a quick prayer for her hearing. She knew Tali, Liara, and Joker were in the audience, having received a selfie from her roommate about an hour ago, along with Kaidan’s apologetic message that he wouldn’t be able to make it due to a migraine.

“All right, everyone, gather round,” Shepard said. They all clustered around her as the noise outside began to rise in anticipation. “I know we’ve been working together for a while, but this is the real start to our year. You hear that noise out there? It’s just a fraction of what you’ll be hearing once the season starts and people start talking about us. Acknowledge it’s there, but don’t listen to it too closely. Listen to each other, _play_ for each other and for the name on the front of your jerseys. No one is going to hand us anything, so it’s up to us to earn it.”

“Yes, coach!” several of the boy shouted while others nodded intently. Ashley shivered in anticipation. She’d seen Shepard give her teammates rousing locker room speeches in the televised finals games, but this was her first time on the receiving end of one. It was like a shot of adrenaline. She felt ready to take on the world.

“On three, ‘Normandy,’” Liam Kosta said, his voice barely audible. He’d been named captain and took his leadership duties to the team seriously. “One, two, three…”

“Normandy!”

Shepard smiled and stepped back. “Good. Now let’s go out there and show these folks a good time.” She lead them to the edge of the tunnel where Anderson stood waiting. Outside, everyone was counting down, voices merging into one. Finally, they reached “one” with a roar. On cue, the team ran out onto the court to start a shooting drill. Shepard lead the coaches and Anderson out several beats later.

The noise hit Ashley like a wave, and it took her a few seconds to adjust. Looking around, she nearly froze at the sight of thousands of people shouting and jumping up and down in the stands. Belatedly, she raised one of her arms and waved to the crowd doing her best to emulate Shepard and Greg. Looking around, she spied Tali’s color-coordinated hijab in the crowd near the front and smiled at her friend.

The night passed in a blur of noise and activity. After the shooting drill, Anderson introduced the squad and the coaching staff. The cheer after her name was announced warmed Ashley’s heart. Even in her wildest dreams, she’d never really allowed herself to imagine what something like this might feel like. Now that she was here, she couldn’t imagine she’d ever felt anything better in her life.

~*~*~

Preseason quickly moved towards the start of the season and the beginning of Normandy’s non-conference play. Once again, national media swarmed the campus in preparation for the first game. Ashley did her best not to focus on the cameras that invaded the team’s practices leading up to the opener, but it was hard when it felt like they were watching her every move.

Much to her annoyance, Normandy PR insisted that she and Greg sit down for interviews that would air as part of the pre-game package. Shepard was the potential feel good story that the administration was determined to milk for all it was worth in light of the continued fallout from the Saren Arterius scandal. Ashley gritted her teeth and plastered on the best smile she could while sitting across from noted journalist Diana Allers. Most of the interview went along the expected lines of, “How do you feel about being part of a historic coaching staff? How do you think the team will perform this year? How did you feel about this change so soon after you were hired?” PR had prepped her, however, and she felt able to answer them with minimal hesitation or embarrassment.

It wasn’t until the end that Allers posed the question that Ashley had been hoping wouldn’t come up. “You’re the granddaughter of Richard Williams, whose tenure at Monument University saw one of the few applications of the NCAA death penalty for a major program. Even though you didn’t declare for the WNBA draft you had offers to play in Europe after you finished your college career, but you decided to go into coaching instead and follow your grandfather’s footsteps. Do you view your current position as a chance to redeem your family name?”

Ashley plastered on a smile and did her best to answer evenly. “I loved playing basketball, but I realized pretty early on in my college career that I loved coaching more. I’m not going to lie and say that my family’s legacy in the college game didn’t push me to work harder and aim higher, but I’m not just here because I want to redeem my grandfather’s legacy. Right now, my goal is to help my team have the best season possible and build something here at Normandy. I’m proud to be part of Anita Shepard’s staff and look forward to the season coming up.”

“Well said, Ms. Williams, and I believe that’s all the time that we have,” Allers said. “Thank you so much for your time,” Allers added once she’d wrapped up and the cameras were off. “You handled that last question well.”

“Thanks?”

“I mean it. Questions about family history can be rough, but you had a good answer. Good luck with the game this weekend.”

Shepard found Ashley afterwards sitting in the staff room staring at the cup of water in her hands. “You ok, Ashley?”

“Yeah. I just finally got the question about Grandpa I’ve been expecting every since I started.”

“How’d it go?” Shepard asked, sitting down across from her. If she was feeling any stress about the season opener, it didn’t show on her face at all. It made Ashley a little jealous how easily Shepard appeared to hide what she was feeling at almost all times. She’d been informed by various members of her grad school cohort she had the world’s worst poker face.

“Better than I was expecting,” Ashley said after taking a sip. “Maybe if I’d been asked when I started or when you were first announced I might have handled it differently but I don’t know.”

“What do you mean?”

Ashley sighed, trying to put what she was feeling into words. “Before I came to Normandy, I felt like everything I did would always be viewed through Grandpa’s legacy. I mean, it seemed to come up no matter what I did or where I went. I used it as motivation but I also felt like nothing I did would ever be enough to wipe it clean or would be good enough for everyone judging me. And then I was hired here and it never came up until I told you, and even then it wasn’t a big deal. I think it just allowed me to put some perspective on it all.”

“Good. I’m glad to hear it.” Shepard smiled and got to her feet. “Go home and get some sleep. We’ve got a big couple of days ahead of us and I don’t want you falling over from exhaustion.”

“Aye, aye, skipper.”

Ashley stayed in the staff room for a few more minutes, continuing to process the afternoon’s events and her realization. She’d come to Normandy determined to prove herself to everyone who had judged and doubted her based on her last name. And she was going to that, but she was also going to be building something of her own while she was here.

Smiling at the thought, Ashley sent a quick text to Tali asking if she needed to grab anything from the store and shouldered her bag to head out. It wouldn’t do to get too far ahead of herself, however. There was a long season ahead and it hadn’t even gotten started.

~*~*~

Ashley stood on the sidelines of the court on the outside of the circle of players crowded around Shepard. The noise in the arena around them pulsed around them, making it difficult to hear what the head coach was saying.

“Grunt, I need to you to get the top of the key and screen Kosta. Liam, if you have the chance, take the shot, but if not, draw the defenders and pass the ball to Reyes, who should be over here.” Shepard circled the area on her whiteboard. “Finally, for the love of God, make sure that someone is there to fight for the rebound if we need it. We need those second chance points.”

It was the conference tournament final and they were one point ahead of Cerberus with less than a minute left, with an automatic March Madness slot on the line. While the season hadn’t been a cakewalk, Normandy had held its own throughout the season and found itself with an impressive win-loss record. While they were expected to make the post-season regardless, winning today would be the cherry on top of an impressive season.

The ref blew his whistle, cutting through the music blasting in the arena. “Liam, real quick,” Ashley said, drawing aside their star guard. “Number 23? He favors his left side.”

“So go right to shake him, got it. Anything else?”

“Be careful not to drop your shoulder and we’ll be good.” Ashley stepped back and sat down next to Greg. Shepard stayed on her feet, watching the game with her arms crossed. Ashley could hear the Cerberus coach, Petrovsky, shouting at his players to move faster, to keep their arms up, to fucking guard the Normandy players moving around their side of the court.

Ashley watched with bated breath as Liam drove up the court, juking to the right to shake his defender, just like she’d told him too. Number 23 ran into Grunt with a faint “ooff”, giving Liam enough time to find an open bit of space and shoot from behind the line. The ball arced up and fell, straight through the middle of the basket. 

“For THREEEEEE!” the announcer yelled, barely audible amidst the roar from the Normandy supporters in the ground. 

Cerberus was out of timeouts and two possessions down. Their players raced up the court, trying to either draw a foul or force their way to the basket. Ashley watched, fingers clenched, as the defense swarmed their opponents, trying their best to keep them from finding a shot. 

A Cerberus player took a second too long and Reyes’ hand snaked out and stole the ball. In an instant, he was racing down the court on a breakaway with white and yellow jerseys chasing after him. They weren’t fast enough, however, and Reyes easily made the layup as the whistle blew.

“Yes!” Ashley screamed and leapt to her feet to hug Greg. Beside her, the players ran onto the court to dogpile onto Reyes, even Scott Ryder with his crutches. 

Shepard managed to shake Petrovsky’s hand before she was swarmed by her players. Ashley found herself drawn into the excited mass of people, unable to keep the massive smile off her face. Seeing her, Liam launched himself at her and wrapped her in a massive hug. 

“We did it! We finally fucking beat them!”

“Yeah we fucking did!” Ashley shouted back. 

The celebration on the floor barely slowed down when the conference commissioners arrived with the trophies, shirts, and hats for the Normandy team and staff. Ashley stood towards the side unable to stop smiling. There were still more games ahead, more seasons to plan for once this one finished but for now she didn’t care.

This moment, seeing her team celebrate and pass around the trophy, watching Shepard cut down the net was everything she’d dreamed of and more. She was part of a team that had made history and soon she’d have a legacy of her own.

**Author's Note:**

> The NCAA death penalty is a very real thing. The situation at Monument University is loosely modeled off of what happened with the SMU football team in the late 1980s.


End file.
